Hello and Welcome!

You’ve landed on the blog of Wooden Horse Publishing.  We’re in beta, so things are still a little bare around here.

Wooden Horse publishes an informative directory of magazines called…what else, the Magazines Database.  There you’ll find over 2,000 US and Canadian consumer and trade magazines, complete with contact information, reader demographics, writer’s guidelines and editorial calendars.  Check it out if you’re a PR professional, freelance writer, photographer, or entrepreneur doing your own publicity.

The information you see here come from our daily work with magazines.  We share it to help keep our fellow small business owners aware of new opportunities in the editorial side of the magazine industry.  Since much of the information migrates into our Database, we hope to demonstrate that our data is in-depth and up-to-date.  We hope it encourages you to consider our services.

We’re really glad you came,

Meg and staff

Another Wedding Magazine Dissolved

INSTYLE WEDDINGS, a quarterly magazine from Time Inc, is folding.  The last issue will hit newsstands December 25 and be on display through March.  Time Inc will continue to publish other spinoffs, such as INSTYLE HAIR.

Nine people will be laid off as part of the closure.  The New York Times reported that earlier in November, Time Inc began laying off roughly 500 staffers in a reorganization estimated to save $100 million.

The wedding category has been hard hit.  Besides InStyle Weddings, Condé Nast folded ELEGANT BRIDE and MODERN BRIDE last month.  However, multimedia GET MARRIED magazine, the new shopping and trend guide for the savvy bride, launched October 1.  Published four times a year, it is part of the national, multimedia brand Get Married Media, bundled with the getmarried.com web site and television show.

Hollywood Trade Gets New Editor

DAILY VARIETY, the trade paper of Hollywood since the 1930’s, is getting a new editor.  Leo Wolinsky, a former editor with the Los Angeles Times, will be taking over in January 2010.  Wolinsky will manage the Los Angeles-based print version, as well as the New York publication, DAILY VARIETY GOTHAM.

Daily Variety has been getting competition from new trade magazines.  The publisher, Brian Gott, hopes Wolinsky will be able to give the print editions a much needed boost.  On the block last year, Gott said that Variety is no longer for sale.

The daily print editions have a circulation of 35,000 and the online version, www.variety.com, which contains some print content, receives 5 million visitors a month.

Air Transat Shuts Down Inflight Magazine

Canadian ATMOSPHERE, the official inflight magazine for Air Transat, has been shut down.

It was custom-published in Miami Beach, FL, by Toronto-based publisher Business Class Media.  No information about layoffs is currently available.

The bilingual (French/English) magazine had a print run of 70,000 copies targeting Air Transat’s vacation-bound passengers.  Its website was still active at the time this was posted.

New Wine and Travel Magazine to Tempt Canadians

BRIX Magazine, a new wine and travel magazine for Canada, has announced it will be ready for publication in January 2010.

The tabloid-sized publication will focus on unique wine experiences from every corner of the globe for the 45 to 65 demographic.  A younger audience will be targeted through the upcoming website, brixmag.com, which will feature original material.  Editor-in-chief and creative director Nicole Vallee, nvallee@brixmag.com, says contributors will include both national and international sommeliers.

Brix will have a starting circulation of 10,000 and offer subscriptions through the website and in wine guilds across the country.

Another Newspaper Publisher Lobs Off Employees to Preserve Profits

USA WEEKEND, the weekly magazine insert in the national newspaper USA Today, lost eleven staffers when owner The Gannett Company opened the month of December with a new round of cutbacks eliminating 5% of USA Today’s newsroom staff.

Seven USA Weekend positions will be cut immediately, four will leave in March.  The remaining Weekend staff will consolidate with the newspaper.

USA Today sells a big share of its papers to hotels, motels and airports and has taken a major blow when the economic downfall hit the travel and hospitality business, losing its number one national circulation position to The Wall Street Journal.

National Geographic Takes Opportunity to Move into the Future

According to National Geographic PR representative Ethan Fried, ceasing publication of the award winning National Geographic Adventure Magazine is actually a transitional step into the future.  The 17 staffers, who lose their job with this magazine closing, might see things a bit differently.

National Geographic Magazine Group president John Griffin put it this way, “They [Adventure Magazine staff] have consistently delivered award winning editorial to an enthusiastic audience of readers and advertisers.  But given the current advertising environment and the opportunities we see in emerging digital platforms, we think the time is right to transition the Adventure brand.”  Award winning, for sure, receiving four national magazine awards this year, and holder of several Lowell Thomas awards for general excellence and even travel magazine of the year.

Thus, National Geographic moves forward assuring the more than 600,000 readers that National Geographic Adventure will simply morph into other formats, including special newsstand editions, mobile applications and of course an Internet website, http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com. The National Geographic Adventure Awards will also continue.

Previously it was believed that National Geographic had placed the decade old magazine up for sale at a very reasonable price.  Not included in that price of course was the National Geographic name or brand, nor even the iconic yellow border.  Without the brand and seal of NG approval, it proved an impossible sell.

The travel magazine, established in 1999, for the hearty and adventurous, published 10 times a year with a circulation of approximately 600,000.  Those subscription holders, according to Fried, will be compensated in some way for the remainder of their subscriptions, perhaps subscriptions to other National Geographic magazines.

All magazines, except NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS, have seen a downturn in ad pages.  Kids has held steady growing approximately 1%.  Adventure showing a 44% fall is closely followed by Traveler at 40%.  National Geographic, the flagship magazine, has lost 21% ad pages.

Fried assured that the ‘brand is not going away.’  National Geographic Society, begun in 1888, is a strong worldwide brand with its iconic yellow bordered magazines.

Another Magazine Folds Print, Continues Online

GIANT, a bi-monthly urban lifestyle magazine covering celebrities, culture and fashion primarily for 20-something African Americans, will cease publication with the December 15 issue.  It will publish online only at GiantLife.com.

Publisher Radio One (BlackPlanet.com) President Tom Newman said the economic downturn played a role in the decision to suspend the print edition, which had a circulation of about 300,000.  Foliomag reports former Giant editor-in-chief-turned-Chief Content Officer Smokey Fontaine will remain with Radio One.  No immediate layoffs were announced.

Radio One acquired GIANT in 2007.  Founder Jamie Hooper launched the publication in 2004 with a $10 million investment.  According to the Washington Business Journal, other properties under Radio One’s Interactive One umbrella include BlackPlanet, NewsOne, TheUrbanDaily, HelloBeautiful and Elev8, reaching 9 million monthly unique visitors.

Canadian CHATELAINE Announces New Editor-in-Chief

Jane Francisco

CHATELAINE, the flagship magazine of Canadian conglomerate Rogers Communications, has appointed Jane Francisco as editor-in-chief.  She will be replacing Maryam Sanati, who was let go last week.

Francisco recently left her position of editor-in-chief for STYLE AT HOME magazine, published by Transcontinental.  No replacement has been announced for that magazine.

Prior to working at STYLE AT HOME, her experience includes working as editor-in-chief of both GLOW and WISH magazines, published by St Joseph Media.  Francisco also served as executive editor for the St Joseph Lifestyles group.

Chatelaine is considered one of Canada’s top magazines with a paid circulation of 553,000.

Well-known Chicago Poet and Editor Closes Magazine

Ron Offen

FREE LUNCH: A POETRY MISCELLANY will mail its last issue this month as its long-time editor, 79-year old poet and print publishing advocate, Ron Offen, has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke.

Free Lunch cover

Chicagopoetry.com writes that Mr Offen started publishing Free Lunch in 1989 and he soon became famous for giving free subscriptions to it to over 1200 American poets.  He is also known for tirelessly commenting on all work submitted to him, even poetry that he rejected.  “As a poet myself, I know how dispiriting it is to get a printed rejection slip with no indication as to why my work was being rejected.”

The staff has asked writers to not send any further submissions to the magazine.  Those submissions that have been received with return postage will be returned as soon as possible.

Atlantic Media’s Mystery Website Now Has a Managing Editor

Adam Pasick

Publisher Atlantic Media (THE ATLANTIC, GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE) has hired Adam Pasick as managing editor of a new digital media brand launching in early 2010 and “targeting global business executives,” per a press release.

This mysterious website came to light about two months ago when the publisher announced that Michael Kinsley, the founding editor of Slate, would serve as editor-in-chief of “a new digital media property launching in early 2010.”  A company spokesperson only admitted that it will be “a separate property under the Atlantic Consumer Media umbrella.”  And, it was not “The Atlantic Wire,” that the magazine then had just launched.  The current press release did not bring any more revelations, so – for now – the mystery continues.

Pasick was previously with Reuters, most recently as US editor of Reuters.com.